Saturday 16th March
Read Matthew 5:27-30
“‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (NIVUK)
Sin is remarkably subtle. Which makes the pursuit of holiness challenging. We very easily give ourselves a pass mark with respect to sin. For example, if temptation to adultery arises, and we successfully resist, we pat ourselves on the back and say that we have not sinned. We move on in life comfortable that we are clean and pure with regards to adultery. Very rarely do we ask the question concerning where the temptation to sin arose. Our unquestioned intent and thoughts betray the insidious nature of sin.
To consider the seventh commandment fully, it must be understood in conjunction with the tenth, which clearly states we must not covet our neighbour’s wife…Yet the avoided action remains the pass mark; the salacious thoughts are never judged. That is perhaps at the heart of Paul’s realisation concerning the law. Raised with the Pharisaical skills to avoid the narrow definition of sin in action, it was only when he considered the law in full that sin’s subtlety, and his failure, became obvious.
“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting.” (Romans 7:7-8a) (NIVUK)
Have we got the same full understanding of sin’s subtlety? Until we do, the pursuit of holiness is doomed to failure.
